After a court-ordered public hearing in April, Maverick Rock was allowed to move forward with mining in Daniels Canyon.
County Manager Dustin Grabau said Wasatch County filed a challenge of the decision with the Utah Court of Appeals June 10.
Meanwhile, it also has to comply with the state-mandated next steps that move the project forward.
Maverick mines limestone and shale about 40 miles away in Goshen, a Utah County town. The company says it can bring operations to 426 acres of land along U.S. Highway 40, based on a Utah law that lets companies bypass the typical public planning process required of new mines.
Instead, a company can expand its mining rights into a new area if it has enough structural similarities to and shared history with its existing mine.
“The owner said they could open a mine on Main Street in Heber if there was this same mineral deposit, and there's nothing Heber City or Wasatch County or any other entity could do to stop them,” Grabau said on KPCW's "Local News Hour" June 16. “That is exactly the type of abuse of the state code that we don't feel like was intended by the legislature.”
Grabau said the appeal could set a precedent to prevent similar situations. The county, he said, has obtained records showing Maverick intends to mine at additional sites in Wasatch County and Saratoga Springs under the law.
Maverick Rock first announced plans to expand into Wasatch County in February 2025. The county attorney’s office denied its request, sending the dispute to 4th District Court, which ruled in the company’s favor.
Maverick has since submitted its operations plan to the county.
The county then sought public feedback. It also hired professionals to suggest measures to mitigate environmental, transportation, safety and air and water quality concerns.
“Daniels town has a well head immediately adjacent to this that is a major source of drinking water for the town, and so we have a lot of concerns about what a mine would do if they were to contaminate or dewater that area,” Grabau said.
The county now must schedule another public hearing before the end of July, so Maverick can accept or reject requested mitigation measures.
Grabau said the public hearing will likely be July 1.
